Session 1 Summary
1. Session Overview
Prose Summary:
The bells are dying, and with them, the city. Our intrepid fellowship—minus one dwarf who mysteriously fucked off days ago leaving only cryptic warnings and a barrel of liquid courage—found themselves racing through Blackwharf as it crystallized and burned around them. The Ash Dancer, that pyroclastic ballerina of doom, waltzed through districts turning citizens into blue amber lawn ornaments while his backup singers, The Stillness Choir, harmonized people into temporal stasis.
Mortimer discovered the revolutionary combat technique of flapping his arms really hard to fly (no, really), while Nyx made friends with cultists through the power of being scarier than them. Kurg learned that talking uncomfortably close to fire demons yields surprisingly informative results, though they do enjoy a good hand-burning. Ulion channeled his inner Disney fairy, sprinkling pixie dust and watching a human boy become Icarus with a bucket.
They saved some people, sure. Got the magic song book, absolutely. But as their ship sailed away from the burning, freezing, dying city, Master Carillon clutched his precious Unwritten Song and asked the question nobody wanted to answer: "What have we done?" The answer, of course, was "exactly what The Entropy Shepherd wanted." The city of bells fell silent, its towers shattered, its people preserved in azure eternity. Mission accomplished, if you squint real hard and ignore the screaming.
Detailed Lists
Characters/Entities Mentioned
- Master Carillon - Master of Bells, keeper of the Unwritten Song
- The Ash Dancer (formerly Surtur) - 50-foot tall frozen ash general destroying the city
- Stillness Choir members - Robed cultists turning people to amber through song
- Ember Thieves - 3-foot tall burning creatures herding citizens
- Old Man Rivers - Crotchety blacksmith with peg leg seeking castle employment
- Tommy - Young boy, Old Man Rivers' grandson/apprentice
- Void Titans - Mentioned as roaming the wasteland
- City Magistrates - Put on armor for last stand
- City Guards - Defending gates and castle
- Josiah the Cobbler - Random citizen Mortimer knew
- Tiny - Kurg's enforcer companion (ironically huge)
- Grox - Kurg's accountant companion
- Maker - Ale-ore's blacksmith companion
- Hugh (Hew) - Ale-ore's tunneler companion
- Kifu - Ulion's unicorn
- Rost - Ulion's elven shadow
- Vkkal - Nyx's black pegasus
- Gray-clad ship crews - Nyx's somber seafaring contacts
Items and Loot
- The Unwritten Song - Sacred book/manuscript hidden beneath Master Bell Tower
- Dwarven Ale (Draught of Courage) - Left with Mortimer by Ale-ore
- Large steamer trunk - Carried by Tiny, contents mysterious but important
- Crossbows - Used by Stillness Choir
- Glowing red dagger - Carried by Stillness Choir member
- Bucket - Mortimer's aerial water-bombing tool
- Spear - Mortimer's weapon that caught fire
- Flaming projectiles - Ancient substance catapulted at Ash Dancer
- Master Bell - Destroyed by Ash Dancer
Locations
- Blackwharf/City of Bells - Under siege, partially frozen in amber
- The Master Bell Tower - Largest tower with hidden basement containing the song
- Seven Bell Towers - Three large, one master, three normal (multiple destroyed)
- Rose Gate - Breached by Ash Dancer
- Merchant's Hill - Elevated area of the city
- The Castle - On raised mound, heavily guarded
- The Gardens - Castle grounds with patrols
- Great Bank - Bridge with steps down to river boats
- Moontide - Dock area where ships waited
- Miss Church Gate - Bell tower location
- Wine cellar - Secret basement beneath Master Bell Tower
- Sewers - Mortimer's shortcut system
Encounters
- Stillness Choir ambering citizens (combat/negotiation)
- Ember Thieves herding people (combat/distraction)
- Gate guards blocking castle entrance (negotiation)
- Crowd at Master Bell Tower (negotiation with Master Carillon)
- Bridge crossing with fleeing citizens and Ember Thieves (aerial rescue)
- Stillness Choir preparing to attack Master Bell Tower (intimidation/bond burning)
- Chaos at the docks (escape sequence)
2. Narrative Progression
Plot Development:
Key Events
- Second and third bells stopped ringing, breaking the sonic defense
- Fellowship tasked by magistrates to evacuate Master Carillon
- Discovery that the Unwritten Song, not Carillon himself, is the true prize
- The Ash Dancer successfully destroyed the Master Bell Tower
- The Shepherd completed his master plan: destroying the City of Bells
- Fellowship escaped via ship with the Unwritten Song
- Mass evacuations and crystallizations throughout the city
- Magistrates performed last rites before their final stand
Quests Began
- Protect the Unwritten Song - Initiated when Master Carillon revealed the true objective wasn't him but a sacred song hidden in The Master Bell Tower that will "someday save the city"
Quests Continued
- Stop The Entropy Shepherd (main quest) - Fellowship attempted damage control during the fall of Blackwharf, saved some citizens, retrieved a critical artifact
Information, Lore, Secrets, Hints
- "It's the other frequency" - Stillness Choir revealed amber can be reversed with opposite frequency
- Bells create "magical sonic bubble" protecting against entropy - 24-hour ringing schedule since Shepherd's emergence
- The Master Bell Tower and "get my Unwritten Song. It's deadly important. Someday it'll save the city" - Master Carillon's revelation
- Internal sabotage suspected - "traitorous people were messing with the towers"
- The Ash Dancer recognized by Nyx as corrupted friend Surtur - personal connection revealed
- Glowing red dagger carried by Stillness Choir - significance unknown
- Nyx can only have one bond with others due to being "gloomy" - mechanical revelation
- "What have we done? It better be worth it" - Master Carillon's guilt/doubt
- Shepherd completed master plan to destroy City of Bells - overlord advancement
- Bond mechanics: burning bonds with enemies grants temporary reprieve/mercy
- Elves planning withdrawal to ancient stronghold - Ulion learned but didn't share
- Ale-ore left looking "especially solemn" before departure - something bad happened
- City "too prosperous" and "ripe for bad event" - street whispers of inevitable doom
- Large trunk contents that will "help or hinder the master of bells" - Kurg's secret
- Harbingers seen as elite by Stillness Choir - hierarchy revealed
3. Player and NPC Interactions
Player Characters:
Actions and Development
- Mortimer: Learned to fly via arm-flapping and pixie dust, formed bond with Master Carillon, led sewers navigation, acted as group's local guide, attempted aerial water-bombing rescue
- Nyx: Used harbinger authority over Stillness Choir, burned bond for safe passage, coordinated ship escape, recognized Surtur/The Ash Dancer, considered self-sacrifice as distraction
- Kurg: Questioned Ember Thief using "I Smell Fear" move, took arrow wound to leg, carried mysterious trunk throughout
- Ulion: Granted Mortimer flight via pixie dust, shepherded citizens to safety, negotiated castle entry, learned about elven withdrawal plans
- Ale-ore: Absent but left Dwarven courage draught with Mortimer, his departure worried Nyx
Companions
- Vkkal (Nyx's pegasus): Transported cultists away, evacuated Master Carillon, expressed disgust at boats
- Tiny: Carried mysterious trunk throughout city
Their People's Lore
- Elves withdrawing to unused ancient stronghold (secret)
- Harbingers viewed as magical elite by Shepherd's followers
- City bells as magical defense system created by dwarves
List of Minor/Mentioned NPCs
- Master Carillon - Escaped to ships with Unwritten Song
- Old Man Rivers - Delivered to castle for employment
- Tommy - With grandfather at castle
- Stillness Choir members - Some at Master Bell Tower, others throughout city
- Ember Thieves - Scattered throughout city causing chaos
- Gray-clad sailors - At ships in Moontide
- City Magistrates - Last stand against The Ash Dancer (presumed dead)
- Josiah the Cobbler - Frozen in amber
- City guards - At gates and castle
The Overlord
Generals
- The Ash Dancer - Successfully destroyed Master Bell Tower and much of the city, 50 feet tall, moving with "flowing movement" like dancing
Army
- Stillness Choir - Ambering citizens throughout city with song
- Ember Thieves - Herding citizens toward Choir, burning buildings
Plans and actions
- Master Plan completed: "Destroy the City of Bells"
- Systematically destroyed bell towers to break sonic defenses
- Used Stillness Choir to preserve citizens in amber
- Sent The Ash Dancer as primary siege weapon
- Will create new master plan to replace completed one
Lore
- The Shepherd is considering making Tommy into a new general (joke/possibility)